OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Los Angeles City Council Regular and Special Meeting - May 16, 2025

City CouncilFriday, May 16, 2025
BodyLos Angeles, California
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, May 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

The segment is gonna go from Sepulveda to Central or people might know I-405 or it's about the one today.

0:06

The idea is to help traffic move.

0:09

We can move more people with fewer vehicles, but also to increase the traffic flow.

0:13

Because right now, we you know, whether it's rush hour or even some of the times later at night, cars are not moving very fast.

0:19

The carpal lane is also getting getting crowded and not moving fast as well.

0:22

So we want to make those changes and bring those enhancements.

0:25

We're also gonna do some safety enhancements, but also make the improvements so we can move people along.

0:31

This is also what we're calling our 20 by 28 projects.

0:33

So when the Olympics arrive, we'll be able to put, you know, uh buses on them as we see uh for one and IT to skip past all that traffic.

0:42

But also, as you see on other express lines, people can pay, solo drivers can pay to get access to the express lanes.

0:48

And we expect to have this project ready for the public uh just before the Olympics in 2028.

0:55

It's excited to see the partnership between the municipal leaders, obviously Metro, legislators, the community folks, the athletes, even the young folks.

1:05

It just we can't do this alone.

1:07

We cannot do these types of projects alone.

1:09

It requires everyone to have the buy-in and each stakeholder so we can make them successful.

1:13

A lot of our members take this freeway to go to the uh work and they go home.

1:17

So this will alleviate a lot of the traffic and take less time that they can spend more time with their families and our communities instead of having to be parked on the freeway all the time.

1:29

Well, a project like this, anything that happens with the freeway, we have to partner with Caltrans.

1:35

They've been a fabulous partner since they actually own the freeways.

1:38

We've also worked with the Federal Highway Administration, but also the local cities under which the 105 operates, so the city of Hawthorne, Los Angeles, and others.

1:50

And so it's been a community project of partnership to really get us to this momentous groundbreaking this morning.

2:05

Creative collaboration is behind some environmental enhancements plan in Boyle Heights.

2:11

When completed, the community will be greener and neighbors will have more ways to enjoy Hollandbeck Park.

2:24

The infrastructure project is a collaboration between the Bureau of Engineering, Recreation and Parks, and sanitation, and it's a way to make sure that the dirty water runoff doesn't go to our park, and we make sure that there are safe streets.

2:37

There are going to be curb improvements that are happening to greenify Boyle Heights neighborhood.

2:42

They took in community stakeholder support in order to implement this project, and now we got the influx of many and they're ready to get this job done.

2:50

It's a 6th Street Green Corridor project.

2:53

It starts at Hollandbeck Middle School and it ends here at Hollandbeck Park.

2:58

It's an investment in not only treating the stormwater, we're also planting trees, and so we're enhancing the environment to make it safer and greener for not only the community that lives here, but also the students from Hollandbeck Middle School and Roosevelt High School to make it easier to connect to the park.

3:19

One of the things that I teach my students is leaving a place better than what you found it.

3:24

And this project is doing that.

3:26

I've been part of this community for 40 something years.

3:29

I'm glad that the city is doing their part to make it better.

3:32

Our citizens deserve it.

3:34

Community was brought in to an infrastructure project.

3:37

Instead of being left out of that conversation, they were actually meaningfully included.

3:42

And so having a project that intersects with all these city services actually being delivered in Boyle Heights is so important.

3:48

For so long, they feel like they get left out or deprioritized for other wealthier neighborhoods.

4:10

You know, we may be in a fiscal crisis, but as long as we can collaborate and be creative, we can make projects like this.

4:25

You might not know the name or have any awareness of this 1898 legal case.

4:31

But the landmark ruling is still being talked about today.

4:35

A panel at El Pueblo discuss the United States versus Wong Kim Ark.

4:43

We are the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles, and I'm moderating a panel called Advancing Equality, uh United States versus Wang Kim Ark, with experts at community members about how important this legal case is.

4:57

Wang Kim Ark was born in San Francisco, and so he was automatically a U.S.

5:01

citizen at that time.

5:02

He went to China for a visit, and when he tried to come back, they said that because his parents were immigrants, he did not have the rights of U.S.

5:09

citizen, even though he was born in the United States.

5:12

He fought that case, and that case went all the way to the Supreme Court justice, and they ruled in his favor in 1898, saying that if you're born in this country, you automatically have the rights of U.S.

5:22

citizenship, regardless of your parents' immigration status.

5:26

I'm very proud of my great-grandfather Won Kamark.

5:31

I feel privileged to be here and other people recognize what he did.

5:37

His struggle, winning birthright citizenship.

5:41

It validates my life.

5:43

I feel lucky to actually contribute to whatever's happening now.

5:49

But on the other hand, I really feel all this effort should never have been necessary.

5:54

That birthright citizenship, that question was answered over 125 years ago.

6:01

We're fighting an old battle.

6:05

What we want to do is educate people on this important legal case, a precedent case, Wang Kim Arc.

6:11

And what is the significance of birthright citizenship and what impact is had on Asian American communities, but all immigrants and refugees.

6:19

You know, citizenship for immigrants is so vital because it protects their rights.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Cultural Recognition███████████████████████████27%
Arts and Culture██████████████14%
Procedural████████████12%
Community Engagement███████████11%
Parks and Recreation█████████9%
Public Comment██████6%
Cannabis Regulation█████5%
Labor and Employment████4%
Environmental Protection███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Los Angeles City Council Regular and Special Meeting - May 16, 2025

The Los Angeles City Council convened a regular meeting at 9:33 AM on May 16, 2025, followed by a special meeting. The regular meeting featured five presentations, public comment on various issues, and approvals. The special meeting addressed a contract assertion of jurisdiction (Clean Harbors) and a re-vote on the living wage and hotel worker minimum wage ordinance.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the minutes of May 14, 2025 – passed with 12 unanimous votes.
  • Resolution(s) for approval – passed unanimously.
  • Item 1 (public hearing held) – passed 12-0.

Presentations

  • Hapa Day (Presentation 1): Councilmember Raman, joined by Councilmembers Jurado and Lee, recognized Hapa Day. Honored DJ Hoppa (a mixed-race Asian American DJ and educator) with a city proclamation. DJ Hoppa performed a DJ demonstration and a song. Councilmembers Price and Harris-Dawson offered remarks celebrating diversity.
  • Jewish American Heritage Month (Presentation 2): Councilmember Yaroslavsky led the presentation, focusing on Jewish composers who shaped Hollywood. Remarks from Councilmembers Blumenfield, Park, Raman, Price, Hutt, Lee, Soto-Martinez, McOsker, Nazarian, Rodriguez, and Jurado. Musical medley performed by Emily Goglia, Juliet Goglia, Daniel Pays and Lewis, and Peter White.
  • It's Bigger Than Us (Presentation 3): Councilmember Park recognized the nonprofit organization for its grassroots disaster relief work, especially after the January fires. Remarks from Council President Harris-Dawson, Councilmembers Hutt, and Price. Organization founder Tyrone Nance spoke.
  • Malcolm X 100th Birthday (Presentation 4): Councilmember Hutt honored Andre Parvenue and Torrance Brandon Reese for over three decades of organizing the Los Angeles Malcolm X Festival. Announcement that a five-mile stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard will be named Malcolm X Way, dedicated the following day. Remarks from Harris-Dawson, Soto-Martinez, Price, and Jurado.
  • Griffith Observatory 90th Birthday (Presentation 5): Councilmember Raman celebrated the observatory's 90th anniversary (opened May 14, 1935). Dr. E.C. Krupp (Director) noted the observatory is the most visited public observatory on Earth, with 1.8 million visitors annually. A resolution from the City Council was presented. Remarks from Councilmembers Rodriguez and McOsker.

Public Comments & Testimony (Regular Meeting)

  • Tim Dodd and others (cannabis industry): Licensed cannabis operators and social equity stakeholders urged the council to reduce cannabis taxes, enforce against unlicensed shops, and reject a proposed fee increase from the Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR). Speakers claimed the DCR is mismanaged and that the industry is struggling under a 40% tax disadvantage compared to illegal operators. Several expressed frustration with the city's failure to support equity businesses.
  • Angelica Salas (CHIRLA): Urged the council to save the Represent LA program (legal representation for immigrants) from proposed budget cuts, citing increased deportations under the current federal administration. Emphasized that immigrants contribute $53 billion to the economy.
  • Ernesto Ayala (day labor center coordinator): Asked that funding for day labor centers not be cut, noting the city's sanctuary city status and the importance of these safe spaces for immigrant workers.
  • Judith Serlin (Teamsters): Opposed the proposed layoffs of 460 crossing guards to save 97 traffic officer positions, arguing the math is flawed and crossing guards are essential for child safety.

Discussion Items

  • Item 2 – Clean Harbors Contract (Special Meeting): Councilmember McOsker presented the assertion of jurisdiction (Charter Section 245) over the Board of Fire Commissioners' decision to award a contract to Clean Harbors for hazardous waste disposal. He detailed a 2021 state lawsuit against Clean Harbors for health and safety violations at its Wilmington facility (Denny Street), resulting in a stipulated final judgment in January 2025 where violations were admitted. McOsker stated the Fire Department had previously claimed no recent violations within the city, which he said was misleading because Wilmington is part of Los Angeles. Councilmember Blumenfield supported the assertion as a standard check of delegated authority. Councilmember Lee asked Fire Department Captain Jones about current waste pickup status; Jones said Clean Harbors is not currently picking up, the city is near capacity, and a workaround is being sought. McOsker insisted the department must find a solution. The motion to assert jurisdiction passed 15-0.
  • Item 3 – Living Wage Ordinance (Special Meeting): Second consideration of an updated ordinance increasing wages and health care benefits for hotel and airport workers. Public comment included support from workers and opposition from small hotel owners who requested a carve-out for limited-service hotels (similar to Long Beach). Councilmember McOsker made a motion to adopt the updated ordinance (dated May 15, 2025). The motion passed 12-3. The ordinance will be held over for final approval on May 23, 2025.

Key Outcomes

  • Regular Meeting: Consent calendar items approved unanimously. All five presentations accepted and recognized with proclamations or resolutions.
  • Special Meeting – Item 2: Council asserted jurisdiction over Clean Harbors contract (15-0) and referred the matter to committee.
  • Special Meeting – Item 3: The updated living wage/hotel worker minimum wage ordinance passed on first consideration (12-3). Second and final consideration scheduled for May 23, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

The segment is gonna go from Sepulveda to Central or people might know I-405 or it's about the one today. The idea is to help traffic move. We can move more people with fewer vehicles, but also to increase the traffic flow. Because right now, we you know, whether it's rush hour or even some of the times later at night, cars are not moving very fast. The carpal lane is also getting getting crowded and not moving fast as well. So we want to make those changes and bring those enhancements. We're also gonna do some safety enhancements, but also make the improvements so we can move people along. This is also what we're calling our 20 by 28 projects. So when the Olympics arrive, we'll be able to put, you know, uh buses on them as we see uh for one and IT to skip past all that traffic. But also, as you see on other express lines, people can pay, solo drivers can pay to get access to the express lanes. And we expect to have this project ready for the public uh just before the Olympics in 2028. It's excited to see the partnership between the municipal leaders, obviously Metro, legislators, the community folks, the athletes, even the young folks. It just we can't do this alone. We cannot do these types of projects alone. It requires everyone to have the buy-in and each stakeholder so we can make them successful. A lot of our members take this freeway to go to the uh work and they go home. So this will alleviate a lot of the traffic and take less time that they can spend more time with their families and our communities instead of having to be parked on the freeway all the time. Well, a project like this, anything that happens with the freeway, we have to partner with Caltrans. They've been a fabulous partner since they actually own the freeways. We've also worked with the Federal Highway Administration, but also the local cities under which the 105 operates, so the city of Hawthorne, Los Angeles, and others. And so it's been a community project of partnership to really get us to this momentous groundbreaking this morning. Creative collaboration is behind some environmental enhancements plan in Boyle Heights. When completed, the community will be greener and neighbors will have more ways to enjoy Hollandbeck Park. The infrastructure project is a collaboration between the Bureau of Engineering, Recreation and Parks, and sanitation, and it's a way to make sure that the dirty water runoff doesn't go to our park, and we make sure that there are safe streets. There are going to be curb improvements that are happening to greenify Boyle Heights neighborhood. They took in community stakeholder support in order to implement this project, and now we got the influx of many and they're ready to get this job done. It's a 6th Street Green Corridor project. It starts at Hollandbeck Middle School and it ends here at Hollandbeck Park. It's an investment in not only treating the stormwater, we're also planting trees, and so we're enhancing the environment to make it safer and greener for not only the community that lives here, but also the students from Hollandbeck Middle School and Roosevelt High School to make it easier to connect to the park. One of the things that I teach my students is leaving a place better than what you found it. And this project is doing that. I've been part of this community for 40 something years. I'm glad that the city is doing their part to make it better. Our citizens deserve it. Community was brought in to an infrastructure project. Instead of being left out of that conversation, they were actually meaningfully included. And so having a project that intersects with all these city services actually being delivered in Boyle Heights is so important. For so long, they feel like they get left out or deprioritized for other wealthier neighborhoods. You know, we may be in a fiscal crisis, but as long as we can collaborate and be creative, we can make projects like this. You might not know the name or have any awareness of this 1898 legal case. But the landmark ruling is still being talked about today. A panel at El Pueblo discuss the United States versus Wong Kim Ark. We are the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles, and I'm moderating a panel called Advancing Equality, uh United States versus Wang Kim Ark, with experts at community members about how important this legal case is. Wang Kim Ark was born in San Francisco, and so he was automatically a U.S. citizen at that time. He went to China for a visit, and when he tried to come back, they said that because his parents were immigrants, he did not have the rights of U.S. citizen, even though he was born in the United States. He fought that case, and that case went all the way to the Supreme Court justice, and they ruled in his favor in 1898, saying that if you're born in this country, you automatically have the rights of U.S. citizenship, regardless of your parents' immigration status. I'm very proud of my great-grandfather Won Kamark.

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